Chapter 98: The Revelation of the Eight-Tails, Orochimaru’s Temptation!

After leaving the cemetery, Shūichi and Asuka made their way to the Konoha Hospital.

By spending the entire morning helping to save lives, Shūichi had finally shaken off the impact of Akimichi Chōgan's death.

After lunch, Shūichi headed to Orochimaru's lab, bringing along a medical scroll.

As expected, Orochimaru wasn't there. Shūichi wasn't surprised—Orochimaru had missions to carry out as well.

First, Shūichi went through the research data collected in his absence, ensuring he was up to date. Once he had a clear understanding, he unsealed the scroll he had brought and retrieved the three fist-sized chunks of Four-Tails' flesh that Sarutobi Shinnosuke had collected for him. He carefully placed them in glass jars, prepared a solution, and preserved them.

Next, he began using the lab's equipment to observe the Four-Tails' cells.

"Amazing!"

"Even after being separated from the body for so long, the cells are still incredibly active."

Shūichi marveled at the discovery.

He then moved on to analyze the Four-Tails' DNA and compared it to that of various species of monkeys.

"It's closest to that of gibbons…"

He made a note of this and continued with various observations and small experiments.

These procedures closely mirrored Orochimaru's research process when he studied the Eight-Tails' cells.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, night had fallen.

Orochimaru returned to the lab and, upon seeing the glass jars containing the Four-Tails' flesh, smiled.

"Even though I was aware of this, seeing the spoils in person, I can't help but be impressed by Shūichi-kun's excellence."

Without looking up, Shūichi replied, "Orochimaru-sama, if you have time to be impressed, wouldn't it be better to dive straight into the experiments?"

"Though the Tailed Beasts share some similarities, they're also vastly different, especially in the unique ways they manifest their power."

"Orochimaru-sama, wouldn't you want to research Lava Release?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Of course!"

"After all, Sunagakure managed to develop Magnet Release by studying the One-Tail."

With that, Orochimaru quickly made preparations and, together with Shūichi, got to work.

Having experience with the Eight-Tails, Orochimaru handled the Four-Tails with ease, leaving Shūichi to assist.

But Shūichi didn't mind—he enjoyed learning from Orochimaru's expertise.

In the blink of an eye, it was already 9 PM, and Shūichi left the lab to head home.

The next day, aside from the fundamental physical training and taijutsu practice that shadow clones couldn't substitute for, he spent most of his time at the lab.

He used shadow clones or crow clones to train ninjutsu or study sealing techniques under Uzumaki Kushina.

Lab work was monotonous, but the excitement that came with each new discovery was exhilarating.

Gradually, Shūichi grew fond of this feeling, to the point where he even forgot about the eating contest he had once been interested in.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and November was nearing its end.

In the lab, Shūichi was in the middle of cultivating cells when he suddenly froze.

The Tag System had triggered!

Upon closer inspection, Shūichi realized that he had unknowingly fulfilled the conditions to activate the Substitution Expert tag.

This tag was closely related to the Clone Expert tag.

Aside from the basic Substitution Jutsu, most advanced techniques were linked to clone jutsu, such as Earth Substitution, Water Substitution, and so on. Master one type of clone jutsu, and you could quickly master the corresponding substitution technique.

On the other hand, the Body Flicker Expert tag required mastery of various types of body flicker techniques. While Konoha had the Water Body Flicker, techniques like the Lightning and Earth Body Flicker were missing, so Shūichi had devoted extra attention to them.

Looking at the newly activated Substitution Expert tag, Shūichi suddenly thought of the Eight-Tails.

He remembered that during Killer B's battle with Uchiha Sasuke, when he was struck by Amaterasu, B had used one of his tentacles as a substitute, allowing Sasuke to capture a decoy instead of his real body.

At that time, Sasuke had the Mangekyō Sharingan, yet he hadn't seen through the substitution.

"This could be a great research opportunity."

With that thought, Shūichi activated the Substitution Expert tag.

His substitution talent increased by 100%, and he could now perform any substitution technique without hand seals.

"Huh?"

Just after activating Substitution Expert, Shūichi noticed two new, unactivated leaves on the Tag System's tree.

He immediately inspected them.

Tag: Substitution Master 

Conditions to Obtain: Develop a substitution technique similar to the Eight-Tails' tentacle substitution through research on the Eight-Tails.

Effect: Substitution talent increases by 100%. By selecting a specific body part for enhancement, its performance can be boosted by 100%. Anything in the world can be used as a substitute. As a Substitution Master, no one can fool you with substitution techniques—you'll see through them instantly.

Shūichi was stunned as he read through the information.

"Enhance a specific body part for a 100% boost? That's incredible!"

Unfortunately, only one part could be chosen.

He moved on to the second tag.

Tag: Clone Master 

Conditions to Obtain: Develop a clone technique similar to the Eight-Tails' tentacle-based clones through research on the Eight-Tails.

Effect: Mental energy increases by 100%. Anything in the world can be used for cloning. As a Clone Master, no clone technique can deceive you—you'll see through any clone instantly.

Shūichi was surprised. "Both tags are triggered by the Eight-Tails? That's unexpected."

He had originally thought that developing the Crow Clone technique might trigger the Clone Master tag, but it hadn't.

"Using parts of the body to perform clone techniques or substitutions…"

Shūichi fell into deep thought, only to be snapped out of it by Orochimaru's sudden appearance.

"Encountering a challenge?" Orochimaru asked with concern.

Shūichi smiled. "Not at all. Just had an interesting idea pop up."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Ah, the energy of youth!"

Shūichi complimented, "Orochimaru-sama, your mind is still as sharp as ever."

Without confirming or denying the flattery, Orochimaru asked, "So, what's your take on the Four-Tails' cells? For example, would you consider using monkeys for experiments?"

Shūichi thought for a moment before responding, "I've reviewed the experimental records. Orochimaru-sama, when you studied the Eight-Tails, you experimented with various animals that had similar DNA, but none of them could handle the strain."

Orochimaru nodded, "Indeed. The Tailed Beasts are far too powerful. It's like…"

He paused briefly before continuing, "Even shinobi struggle to withstand the Tailed Beasts' power and malevolence. It's even harder for ordinary animals."

"Unless you selectively breed and train them into a superior summoning beast, there's little chance they could fuse with the power of a Tailed Beast."

Shūichi, after hearing this, said, "In that case, there's no need to pursue such experiments."

Orochimaru smiled, "But there's still a small chance. Are you sure you don't want to give it a try, Shūichi-kun?"

Shūichi shook his head firmly. "Orochimaru-sama, given how slim the odds are, I believe it's better to explore a different path."

"Oh?" Orochimaru abandoned his persuasion, intrigued. "It seems you've made some other discoveries?"

Shūichi smiled, "It's just an idea for now. However, I do have a request. I hope Orochimaru-sama can agree to it."

"You want cells from the Eight-Tails, don't you?"

Shūichi nodded, "Yes. In exchange, I'll keep only a small portion of the Four-Tails' flesh for my own experiments. The rest can be handed over to you."

"I've already spoken to the Third Hokage about this. Since you're leading the current experiment, it's only natural that the remaining Four-Tails' flesh goes to you."

Orochimaru grinned knowingly, "It seems you've been planning this for a while."

Shūichi shrugged, "After all, it's the Eight-Tails. I've even fought the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki."

"Deal."

Orochimaru agreed without hesitation. He needed the Four-Tails' cells for other experiments in different labs.

And so, the transaction was completed.

Having been interrupted, Shūichi decided to wrap up his research for the day and left the lab.

As he walked through Konoha's bustling night market, he pondered Orochimaru's suggestion: "Is this a step-by-step attempt to lead me into human experimentation?"

"First animal experiments, then human experiments…"

Shūichi didn't have any moral objections to animal experimentation—he wasn't a saint, after all.

Using lab mice, monkeys, and other animals for experiments was perfectly normal and didn't violate human ethics.

But human experimentation, especially unrestricted human experimentation, was undeniably cruel.

"Still, if animal experiments are unlikely to yield results, I'll have to explore a different approach to study Lava Release," Shūichi mused. "I could either raise a small Four-Tails Beast and extract Lava Release chakra from it, or… follow in the footsteps of Kinkaku and Ginkaku."

Kinkaku and Ginkaku, shinobi from the Hidden Cloud, had consumed the flesh of the Nine-Tails and gained its chakra. Most importantly, they survived.

However, Shūichi suspected that those two likely had extraordinary bloodlines. Just looking at them made it clear.

It wasn't hard to believe that they had managed to kill the Second Hokage with an elite squad. After all, if Tobirama hadn't intended to flee, anything could have happened in a battle.

Lost in thought, Shūichi unknowingly arrived at Konoha Hospital. He quickly pushed these thoughts aside as he entered.

"Eh?"

Upon seeing him, Shizune was initially startled, but then she beamed with joy. "Shūichi! What brings you here?"

Shūichi smiled as he walked up to her. "Just came to check on you all."

"It's so late. Why are you still at the hospital?"

Shizune laughed, "Lady Tsunade is still here, working on some research with Nono-sensei."

Shūichi understood and then, pulling Shizune along, said with a grin, "Shall we go see them?"

Shizune quickly nodded. "Yes, yes!"

The two of them strolled to Tsunade's office, where they found Tsunade and Nono Yakushi frowning over a scroll.

Shūichi pushed open the door.

Without looking up, Tsunade snapped, "I already said, don't bother me unless it's something important!"

Such a bad temper!

Shūichi thought to himself, completely forgetting how respectful he had been to her when he needed something from her in the past.

"Shūichi!"

Nono Yakushi greeted him with a smile.

Tsunade, hearing this, turned around and sneered, "Finally decided to step out of that snake's lab, huh?"

Unfazed by her attitude, Shūichi smiled and said, "Of course. In my heart, Lady Tsunade is always number one. Orochimaru-sama comes after."

Tsunade's mood lightened a bit at that, though she still maintained a stern expression and huffed, "Smooth talker."

Shūichi pretended not to hear the comment and glanced at the scroll filled with seals and techniques. "Encountering some difficulties?"

Nono nodded, "The technique requires precision down to each individual cell. The difficulty is extremely high, and the mental strain is enormous."

Shūichi agreed. When he had unlocked the Sensory Expert tag, his mental fortitude had improved, allowing him to extract chakra with cell-level precision.

Before that, his body had undergone several enhancements, including faster thought processing, nerve reactions, memory, and chakra control.

All of these were closely tied to mental strength and chakra refinement.

The technique Tsunade was developing worked in both directions—extracting chakra at the cellular level and controlling it at the same precision.

It also involved distributing the chakra.

Simply put, the technique Tsunade was working on required creating a dual-channel system between the Yin Seal and every cell in the body.

One channel would extract chakra into the Yin Seal, while the other would direct chakra from the Yin Seal to every cell. This was specifically designed for medical ninjutsu.

The goal was to ensure that any severe injury could be healed instantly and without hand seals by building a high-speed channel to every part of the body.

Shūichi knew even he couldn't achieve this level of precision yet.

Controlling and distributing chakra was far more difficult than merely extracting it.

(End of Chapter)

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